Okay, so I've told you all about coming to terms with my calling as a mother and learning to really love my job. Loving it, however, doesn't automatically make you a great mother. (If only that were true.) So the next thing I started working on I call the SuperMom Quest ...
Step One
Regularize all those 'family' things that I often do, but that I'm sometimes sporadic about, and simplify them for children (us not-so-natural moms are really dumb about things like that).
Family Prayers - We cut them in half.
Family Scripture Study - We started doing it while the kids eat breakfast (so their mouths and bodies are occupied and they can only listen).
Family Dinner - We picked a scheduled time and did it regardless of whether Sam was gone at class or not. (Although when he is gone dinner is something lame-o like chicken noodle soup. From a can.)
Family Home Evening - Hmmm ... for that one I'm just gonna cut a paragraph straight out of my personal journal:
I am a QUEEN. Yes, I am. I'm pretty much the most successful mother in the history of the world. Ever. Let me tell you why. So Family Home Evening has pretty much been a dismal failure ever since Seara was born. Part of that has to do with the fact that Samuel and I didn't really tailor our lessons to a toddler (or really know how to) until this summer when we bought the new nursery manual ... And it worked like a wonder! There was wiggling and whining, but the kids sat still for almost of all it, participated, and had a good time. Sam and I were so excited!! After that we all sat down for dinner - another new thing we've only done a couple times. We all sit at the big table and try to have a traditional meal ... [and we] talk about how much we love broccoli (because obviously the kids don't and we're trying to show them that it is awesome) ... after that Sam shooed the kids in the bathroom and while he got them all ready for bed, I did the dishes. The kids are in bed, the house is clean, and I am a QUEEN.
19 comments:
You are QUEEN with a capital Q! Those are great ideas, and probably the most important and elusive of the mom jobs. There are all kinds of stats on how great it is to eat meals as a family and all kinds of talks about how good family prayers, scriptures, and FHE are so I think you're doing GREAT! My realization for the day... I got the opportunity to listen at church for the first 20+ years of my life now it's my turn to walk the halls. Oh well. I'm excited to hear the other steps in the Super Mom Quest. PS Is your journal always that well written? Please say no for my sake.
I like the scripture study idea during breakfast. We might have to try that. Makenna won't sit still for 2 seconds during our scripture study at night (doesn't help that she has MAJOR ADD ... she can't even sit down and watch a TV show yet!).
BTW, if you're still around in May, we need to get together either up in Philly or maybe I can come down and visit you guys in MD.
Davis
Is your journal always so entertaining? What am I saying. It's Janae. Of course it is. Well. Someone will probably read yours. Mine are so boring I'm sure no one will ever read them. Yet I keep writing in them. I'm sure that means something psychologically. Good job on your success. :)
We LOVE the new nursery manual. We use it all the time. Love the idea of breakfast scripture study.
Don't you just love it? We were having the same problem so about a month ago we purchased for FHE too and it was an instant success. Braden occasionaly asks to see your videos on here of the kids - he misses them! Hope you guys are back this way sometime soon!
Oh Janae, I can't tell you the amount of comfort this post has given me. For some reason I always just pictured your house running absolutely perfectly. My biggest guilt trip has been not regularly actually sitting down to supper as a family. I am so glad to hear that others whom I admire and respect also have a hard time doing that sometimes too. Thank you! :) And thanks for the Nursery Manual idea. AWESOME! Sometimes the Friend has cool FHE ideas in the back too. Whenever I’m in charge of the lesson that’s where I’ve been getting them, but most of even those are still a little old for Addison. (When Bart does it, it’s still the lame just for Bart and me thing…te he he…but Addison seems to enjoy spending time with us, so it’s been good.)
Okay, now I want a bit of advice. Lately I try and say personal prayers with Addison in her bed, she throws a fit! Especially at night. She exclaims, “Already said prayers!” (referring to family prayers said usually 15 min to 30 min before) and she refuses to say them. Usually I just end up saying a little prayer for her. Any suggestions?
Erin & Cara - Um, well, yeah, that is what my journal is normally like. I cut out a few more boring parts, though, so you only read the interesting stuff. I write my journal to an audience, even though no one ever reads it. I guess that's why I took to blogging so quickly!
Rebecca - I just started getting a subscription to the Friend, but I haven't read it yet. (I have a few copies sitting by my bed just waiting ...) I hadn't realized they would have FHE ideas, I'll have to look for those. Thanks! As for the prayer advice, when Seara went through a phase like that we tried all sorts of tricks (and forcing her) to no avail. Finally we just acted like it was no big deal and just said a prayer for her. After a month or so, she was over it. We just figured when it came to spiritual things we did not want to fight. That may not be much help, but it's what worked for us. Good luck!
Ooh, good call. I will have to do that for a while and see how it works. Thanks!
If you look at the very back of the magazine...I'm pretty sure it's like the inside of the back cover, they have FHE ideas. They'll give you ideas of games/things to do, and a story from the magazine to go along with it. It's great...and makes the planning go much faster!
P.S. I figured you'd answer here, so I subscribed to the comments on this post. :)
Janae, you are the COOLEST QUEEN EVER!
And to all of you who asked, yes, Janae's journal is always that well written. It makes me sick. My journal entries usually go something like this: "Nothing much happened today. Things are going good. I'm tired. I'll write more tomorrow."
Cara, I'm totally with you. I keep on writing, but I'm thinking the world just ain't really gonna care about my journals.
The new nursery manual has saved our FHE lessons with the kids! I ordered it as soon as it came out 'cause we were like you guys at the start. I didn't really know how to gear lessons towards toddlers. But the manual is perfect!
You go, girl!
I remember feeling like that once ... a long, long time ago ....
(Pssst. I really REALLY like the scripture study at breakfast time idea. I might just use it!)
I don't remember when I made the transition that parenting young children requires a whole different set of skills. It's like no one tells you that other families with older children can do most of the regular "suggestions" (without major alteration) that you always hear about. It definitely unloaded a ton of guilt.
For the record, I think sometimes young moms get the shaft. Because I know lots of "seasoned" mothers who really don't remember their time when the kids were really little. why? Because it was a BLUR. An insane, tired, fun, hectic, winging-it BLUR. it's a lot easier to remember parenting from the most recent stage that you've done. And so sometimes I think moms with young kids don't hear enough of how crazy it is, and how people just make it work by being creative...and praying. (just my opinion of course. sorry for the rant, lol)
Katie - I LOVE your rants. I don't need to say anything more than that. It pretty much envelops everything I think about what you say. :)
Hmmm. So what do you mean by cutting your prayers in half? Half as many? (probably bad). Half as long? (probably good, for little kids).
Also speaking of broccoli... Do you know why Barack Obama did not ask me to be his Vice President? Because if he did the team would have been known as Barack-Ole.
Dad - Half as long. :) It feels like we actually say TWICE as many because once you add personal prayers for them (morning and night) and prayers over the food (they want to say them over snacks) and the fact that they often BOTH want to say the prayers (so each one gets a turn), we end up saying a whole lotta prayers around here.
Barack-Ole. That is hilarious! I'm surprised I haven't heard it before. How on earth did you think of that?? :)
Isn't that nursery manual awesome?! Jason's mom gave one to us for Christmas and I LOVE it! As far as the natural mom thing...I'm disabled in that area as well, so the simplest things like, having the kids pretend they are eating when you tell them about the fish and loaves of bread story, escape my ability to come up with them on my own.
PS there is nothing wrong with chicken noodle soup from a can...just for the record.
Sounds like you are really teaching your kids the important things in life at an early age. That is so nice that you sat down and thought about how to make it work. FHE isn't so successful on our end, so maybe we need to sit down and figure out what we can do.
Post a Comment